President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa receives a blessing from Rabbi Asher Deren, chairman of the Rabbinical Association of the Western Cape.

Twenty-eight years ago, Cyril Ramaphosa stood outside Cape Town’s city hall, holding a microphone for Nelson Mandela, who had just been released from prison. This week, days before he assumed the South African presidency, Ramaphosa stood at the very same spot, celebrating 100 years since his mentor’s birth, and received the blessings of Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Asher Deren, chairman of the Rabbinical Association of the Western Cape.

This Erev Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Adar, and, as everyone knows, we usher in this joyous month with merriment and by being jovial. I therefore chose to share with you a story which I recently heard for the first time about our most beloved jester, Reb Shmuel Munkis.

In this weeks letter, the Rebbe mentions the gist of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s talk regarding the construction of the mishkan and our meticulous erecting and dismantling of it during the years of wandering in the desert, and its relevance to us in our lives today. The letter, written originally in English, is from the archives of the Rebbe’s trusted secretary Rabbi Nissan Mindel.

The CTeen International Shabbaton, is less than a week away. In preparation for next week, CTeen Headquarters has been working diligently alongside NYPD and the relevant security agencies to ensure a safe and enjoyable weekend for all. The 10th annual Shabbaton is expected to be the biggest CTeen has ever seen, with over 2,500 participants in total.

In an unprecedented campaign, Educational Institute Oholei Torah raised over 2.4 million dollars from 2248 supporters, friends and alumni from around the world! The event showed the great impact and loyal support the Mosad has, which expressed itself in the vast numbers.

Tonight, the Brashevitsky’s will hold a ceremony marking a part of the completion of a new Sefer Torah. This Torah was written the memory of their dear brother Shlomo Sholom Barshevitsky OBM, who passed away 18 years ago. Rabbi Avrohom Brashevitsky relates a story about how we normally rush to do a mitzvah, but in this case it was “Better Late then Early.”

Yeshivas throughout New York are under attack. A small group of disgruntled former students, encouraged and amplified by those with their own agendas separate from yeshiva education, has spurred state and city education officials to scrutinize the education that religious schools are delivering to their students, with an eye on imposing unprecedented new rules about what can and cannot be taught.

This Motzai Shabbos Beis Eliezer Yitzchok will be hosting a special evening for women, featuring Mrs. Itu Lustig, a holocaust survivor and matriarch of a large family, who will share her personal story of strength and survival. There will also be a face painting workshop following the presentation.

Over 2,000 community members and supporters attended the Beth Lubavitch of Paris, France annual gala dinner, where they celebrated 50 years of service to the Jewish community of Paris, this past Tuesday.

At least 17 people were killed, including students and adults, and many others injured when a former student opened fire in a high school in Parkland, Fla. Victims were taken to local hospitals, and three remain in critical condition.